EUGENE, Ore. — Highway 101 is not the only major north-south thoroughfare on the Pacific Coast.
Gray whales have their own coastline concourse between Mexico and Alaska, which they travel during two seasonal migrations.
In Oregon, the best time to watch migrating gray whales is spring, when they are heading 6,000 miles up the coastline to the Bering Sea and other Arctic waters. From about late March into June, whalewatchers can see mothers with calves in their springtime run, and mating adults are less inhibited and easier to spot.
In winter, from mid-December until mid-January, some 20,000 gray whales migrate back down the coast from Alaska to the warm lagoons of Baja.
But an estimated 200 gray whales drop off the main route and feed along the Oregon Coast all summer, making it possible to see gray whales year-round.
“Baby” whales are more like Baby Hueys, measuring about 15 feet long and weighing around 1,500 pounds or more at birth. Their growth is rapid due to the hundreds of gallons of milk a mother whale produces every day.
Adult gray whales can consume nearly a ton of krill and other shrimp-like creatures every day. Like other mammals, whales are warm-blooded, breathe air and give birth to their young. Most whales live about 40 years, though some, such as the fin whale, can live to the age of 90.
Whales have a keen sense of hearing, and are two to three times more efficient at using oxygen than other mammals. They have collapsible rib cages, which help with deep diving. Their layers of blubber are like insulation against the cold water of the northern Pacific.
Where to see whales
Oregon’s official “Whale Watching Weeks” are typically at the end of March, during spring migration, and at the end of December during fall migration. During peak viewing weeks, Whale Watching Spoken Here volunteers staff 24 designated whale-watch sites along the Oregon Coast.
It’s best to see whales on clear days from a viewpoint. In and near Lane County, from south to north, the best viewpoints include the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park (in Reedsport), the Sea Lion Caves turnout north of Florence on Highway 101, and at two sites near Yachats, the Cape Perpetua Visitor’s Center and Cook’s Chasm.
If you’re heading north on Highway 101 up the coastline, stop at the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center. The center, in Depoe Bay, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during peak Whale Watching Weeks; at other times of year, it is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
